Visa exemption accord signed with El Salvador

An agreement on visa exemption for diplomatic and official passport
holders from Vietnam and El Salvador was signed in Hanoi on
March 31 as the outcome of talks between the two foreign ministers.

During the talks, Pham Gia Khiem, who doubles as Deputy Prime
Minister, and his El Salvador guest, Hugo Martinez Bonilla, reached
consensus that the two countries should further tap potential in
consumer goods production, agriculture, science-technology, culture,
healthcare, education-training and telecommunication to scale up the
current modest economic relations.

The two foreign
ministers also agreed upon mutual assistance in expanding relations of
El Salvador with other countries in Southeast Asia and of Vietnam
with Central America .

The duo pointed out the
need to speed up negotiations and sign a number of accords of
cooperation soon in order to lay foundations for a legal framework on
bilateral relations, especially in economics, trade and investment.

They said measures should be taken to encourage and create favourable
conditions for businesses from both to take a foothold in each other’s
markets and establish direct partnerships.

Host
and guest shared a view on promoting the exchange of delegations at all
levels to deepen political relations, increase mutual understanding and
work out measures for cooperative efficiency.

They
also agreed that the two countries should continue with close
coordination of action and mutual assistance in international
organisations and multilateral forums such as the United Nations, the
World Trade Organisation and the Forum of East Asia and Latin America
Cooperation (FEALAC).

The two foreign ministers
highlighted close relations, with the guest’s invitation for Khiem to
visit El Salvador and the host accepting the invitation with
pleasure.

The talks concluded with the signing of a
memorandum of understanding on establishing a reference mechanism
between the two foreign ministries, in addition to the visa exemption
agreement./.